Kangan partners with Renault Academy

RENAULT Australia has struck a comprehensive agreement with the Bendigo Kangan Institute to handle all of the company’s apprentice and in-service training at its new Renault Academy in suburban Melbourne.

It is the third training agreement Kangan has signed with different sectors of the automotive industry and will be delivered on Renault’s premises by Kangan’s Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), which is based at Melbourne’s Docklands.

Kangan ACE already delivers training programs for Toyota Australia, offering certificates in automotive manufacturing and three levels of competitive systems and practices.

In addition, Kangan ACE has an agreement with Nissan Motorsport where students have the opportunity of an internship with the V8 Supercar team over various race weekends.

Renault Australia managing director Justin Hocevar said the development of the Renault Academy is a major step for the company in Australia.

“The creation of the Renault Academy in Melbourne and the move to a new head office in the same building was the most important moment in Renault Australia’s history,” he said when Victorian industry minister Lily D’Ambrosio opened the education facility this week.

“We have partnered with the Kangan Institute and their Automotive Centre of Excellence to deliver an end-to-end training program for our technicians.

“We will train the next generation of highly valued expert technicians right here in this facility.”

The partnership is more than just an education exercise for Kangan ACE, according to, Bendigo Kangan Institute interim chief executive officer Amanda Brook.

“Kangan ACE will be responsible for providing the training, and looking after the enrolments, developing the curriculum, making sure it’s current and it reflects the state-of-the-art vehicles Renault will be bringing to the market during the time of our relationship and certifying those apprentices,” Ms Brook said.

“We are going to bring them from all around Australia, manage the logistics of getting them here, accommodating them and, of course, upskilling them, so they can return to their employers with improved skills.”“That’s quite a different role for a training provider,” Ms Brook said.

“It’s about giving an immersive, intensive Renault experience with all the ACE expertise on how to build a training program to get the best outcome.”

Kangan ACE already conducts training on employers’ sites, and offers courses that blend internal and external training and Miss Brook said the institute now specialises in adapting courses to suit employers’ needs.

“For us it is about understanding what is right for a particular organisation or industry.

“If they need the students to be trained in their facility, in their environment, on their vehicles in this case, then we will bring our team to the industry.”

The Renault Academy set-up is Kangan ACE’s first national training program and a cause for celebration on three levels for a Victorian-based Tertiary and Further Education (TAFE) institution, she said.

“First, it demonstrates our capacity to provide really valuable customised, industry-specific training on a national basis that will add real economic value to our industry partners.

“Secondly, for us, it paves the way for growth, and that’s what our Institute is about, growing and increasing our presence, not just in the Victorian market but in the national market in the coming months and years. This is a really good stepping stone for us to grow.

“Finally, national training partnerships such as this provide a really great opportunity for Victoria to both build and grow in the automotive sector, by the centralization of this activity, but also to create a strong national reputation as the education state.”